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Concentrations of the genotoxic metals, chromium and nickel, in whales, tar balls, oil slicks, and released oil from the gulf of Mexico in the immediate aftermath of the deepwater horizon oil crisis: is genotoxic metal exposure part of the deepwater horizon legacy?

ABSTRACT: Concern regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil crisis has largely focused on oil and dispersants while the threat of genotoxic metals in the oil has gone largely overlooked. Genotoxic metals, such as chromium and nickel, damage DNA and bioaccumulate in organisms, resulting in persistent exposures. We found chromium and nickel concentrations ranged from 0.24 to 8.46 ppm in crude oil from the riser, oil from slicks on surface waters and tar balls from Gulf of Mexico beaches. We found nickel concentrations ranged from 1.7 to 94.6 ppm wet weight with a mean of 15.9 ± 3.5 ppm and chromium concentrations ranged from 2.0 to 73.6 ppm wet weight with a mean of 12.8 ± 2.6 ppm in tissue collected from Gulf of Mexico whales in the wake of the crisis. Mean tissue concentrations were significantly higher than those found in whales collected around the world prior to the spill. Given the capacity of these metals to damage DNA, their presence in the oil, and their elevated concentrations in whales, we suggest that metal exposure is an important understudied concern for the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.

SUBMITTER: Wise JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3983321 | biostudies-other | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:IntroductionThe 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster exposed tens of thousands of oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) workers to hydrocarbons and other hazardous chemicals. Some hydrocarbons, such as toluene and hexane, have been found to have acute adverse effects on the central nervous system in occupational settings. However, no studies have examined the association between oil spill exposures and neurobehavioral function.MethodsWe used data from the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study, a cohort of adults who worked on the DWH response and cleanup. Total hydrocarbon (THC) exposure attributed to oil spill cleanup work was estimated from a job-exposure matrix linking air measurement data to detailed cleanup work histories. Participants were also categorized into 6 job categories, or OSRC classes, based on their activity with the highest exposure. Neurobehavioral performance was assessed at a clinical exam 4-6 years after the spill. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate relationships of ordinal THC levels and OSRC classes with 16 neurobehavioral outcomes.ResultsWe found limited evidence of associations between THC levels or OSRC classes and decreased neurobehavioral function, including attention, memory, and executive function. Workers exposed to ≥3 ppm THC scored significantly worse (difference1.0-2.9ppm = -0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.74, -0.04) than workers exposed to <0.30 ppm THC for the digit span forward count test. There was also a possible threshold effect above 1 ppm THC for symbol digit test total errors (difference1.0-2.9ppm = -0.56 (95% CI = -1.13, -0.003), difference≥3.0ppm = -0.55 (95% CI = -1.20, 0.10)). Associations appeared to be stronger in men than in women. A summary latency measure suggested an association between more highly exposed jobs (especially support of operations workers) and decreased neurobehavioral function.ConclusionOSRC-related exposures were associated with modest decreases in neurobehavioral function, especially attention, memory, and executive function.

Dataset Information

Concentrations of the genotoxic metals, chromium and nickel, in whales, tar balls, oil slicks, and released oil from the gulf of Mexico in the immediate aftermath of the deepwater horizon oil crisis: is genotoxic metal exposure part of the deepwater horizon legacy?

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